Grooming Your Cat

Cats are known for grooming themselves - and they rarely need any encouragement from their owners to do so. However you can also get involved with grooming them which will help you check that they are fit and healthy and will also strengthen the bond between you and your cat.

Grooming is good for your cat as it helps improve both their circulation and their muscle tone. You will also notice that they will have less hair balls, as you will reduce the amount of dead hair left within their fur. It will also make the coat smoother, allowing it to keep them warmer in the winter, as well as stimulating the glands at the base of the coat to produce natural oils that keep the fur waterproof. You will also find that your cat will lick themselves more in summer as their saliva cools them down.

You should start grooming them from an early age as it will get them used to it and make it part of their regular routine. If your cat has short hair then the best tool to use is a fine-toothed metal comb. You should do this on a weekly basis after you have used a rubber brush to remove any dead hairs lying in their fur.

For longhaired cats you should use a steel comb. When brushing your cat, regardless of the length of their fur, you should brush in the direction their hair grows. After that, for shorthaired cats you should use a bristle brush, sweeping up the coat moving towards their head and then smooth it down again. For longhaired cats you should look for knots before brushing them. Try to unknot any tangles. If that’s not possible, cut knots out with blunt-ended scissors. Be very careful when doing this as it's very easy to cut their skin accidentally.

Not all cats will take easily to being groomed, so you may want to have some treats on hand for them to eat whilst you groom them. The treats will take their attention away from what you are doing.

Grooming a Persian cat

You should bathe your Persian cat as they have long hair. It will keep their coat in good condition as well as looking nice and clean. Before bathing you should go through their fur getting rid of matts and knots that have formed. After you are sure you have removed them, brush through their coat with a wide-toothed comb.

The next step is to degrease their fur. You can do this with a number of products including special cat grooming products. You should put the product on to their dry fur and rub it in, making sure you get to the particular greasy areas e.g. their ears and underarms. Then make sure you thoroughly rinse it all out. How regularly you bath your Persian cat will depend on the individual. Because they have long fur it can tend to look oily, dirty and matted much more than other breeds.